


The Bat-Boys Have 99 Problems...

by xikra1648



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman Beyond, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Batman: Arkham (Video Games), DC Animated Universe, DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Batfleck - Freeform, Comedy, Explicit Language, F/M, Gen, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Product of Overactive Imagination, Rating May Change, Romance, but it gets pretty bad, okay maybe not that bad, older Damian, seriously everyone swears like a sailor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-07-14 14:01:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 12,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7174727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xikra1648/pseuds/xikra1648
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>...and a girl is every single one</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Teenage Hormones (Damian-Justice League vs. Teen Titans)

**Author's Note:**

> First off, I saw this picture on deviantArt and couldn't help but note that Damian is gonna' be a heart breaker when he grows up.  
> http://maby-chan.deviantart.com/art/ROBIN-Damian-Wayne-Outfit-452889700
> 
> Second, yes I named Laurel after Laurel from the 'Arrow' series and yes her suit is heavily based on Black Canary's suit in Rebirth.
> 
> Third, yes I am a big Black Canary fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I saw this picture on deviantArt and couldn't help but note that Damian is gonna' be a heart breaker when he grows up.  
> http://maby-chan.deviantart.com/art/ROBIN-Damian-Wayne-Outfit-452889700
> 
> Second, yes I named Laurel after Laurel from the 'Arrow' series and yes her suit is heavily based on Black Canary's suit in Rebirth.
> 
> Third, yes I am a big Black Canary fan.
> 
> Fourth, yes I know Damian doesn't hide his identity in the movie but I thought it added some irony to the ending.

Oh for god’s sake what was he thinking? He was above this…this…hormonal imbalance taking over his brain.

Joining this team was not Damian’s idea, but over the years he had gotten over it. It took Trigon taking over the Justice League and working with the other Titans to save the League but still, he accepted his place as a Titan. He was one of the younger members, but not the youngest. That spot was saved for the Blue Bird, the beautiful blonde girl who only grew more and more beautiful as they grew older.

Laurel Queen the daughter of Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance, a.k.a. the Green Arrow and Black Canary. Laurel had inherited her father’s wit, but she was very much her mother’s daughter-if her own Canary Cry had anything to say about it. It wasn’t thought possible, but Laurel’s cry had overpowered her mother’s. Laurel looked so much like her mother, she had inherited her Dinah’s strong build and the way her Blue Bird suit showed off her strong legs…

Fuck he was doing it again. He had to stop, immediately. He was going on a recon mission with Blue Bird in a matter of minutes. He made his way through the tower to the garage and saw her sitting on her own jet black and sky blue bike. She was different from the other girls his age, even from the other super heroes.

Laurel sat, pulling on her black leather gloves. Her suit was almost a contradiction in itself made up of a black blue corset top lined in blue, lifting her plush bust and held up with a halter top that crossed over her chest and wrapped tightly around her neck. Her black worn leather pants fit snugly on her form and she wore a black leather belt to hold the small amount of tools she carried around instead of holding up her tight pants. Her black combat boots were old and worn, but comfortable and functional, and the entire costume was topped with a black leather biker jacket with a blue bird stitched into the back. Her long blond hair was left down and her big blue eyes were about to be lined in a black and blue mask.

Damian tore his gaze away from the blonde and strode over to his own bike, pulling his helmet off of the handle bars and simply saying, “Let’s go.”

“Whatever you say, boss,” Laurel joked with a smirk on her pink lips and a lazy salute before putting on her mask and her own helmet. She hoped that covered up the shiver that ran up her spine at the sound of her teammates deep, rough voice and the sharpness he used it with. He was 18 and puberty had hit him like a nuclear missile. Starfire was right, it must be a requirement for Robins to be more attractive than humanly possible. From that tousled jet black hair to that strong build and the gaze she knew was piercing her through that mask or the sunglasses he wore to hide his identity.

Stop, Laurel, you’re drooling. Face the facts blondie, you’ve got a better chance hooking up with Damian Wayne, the boy you’ve had an embarrassing crush on since you were 14, than you do Robin 4.0. You’re almost 17, get your act together.


	2. Partners (Dick-Young Justice)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightwing and his partner train in the cave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is set in Young Justice season two. If you haven't seen the series I really suggest you do. For those of you that have seen it...are you over the fact that it ended? Because I, certainly, am not.

The original members of the team weren’t at all surprised when the first boy wonder and youngest daughter of Ra’s al Ghul began bickering. They had been bickering since Kahlan first joined the team after turning on her father. It wasn’t that Nightwing distrusted Kahlan…well it was at first but that had changed years ago and they had stopped fighting completely for a few years. Now it was just…because?

Me’gann and Artemis had a theory but the guys didn’t believe it. Sure, Kahlan had left her identity as ‘Shadow’ behind for her new identity as ‘Nightingale,’ a name remarkably similar to Nightwing’s codename, but that meant nothing. Sure, despite the fact that they argued all the time they worked together flawlessly and nearly always chose each other as partners on a mission. Sure, their suits had a certain amount of similarity and they both lived in Bludhaven…

Alright maybe the girls had a point…maybe it was sexual tension.

The acrobat and former assassin trained fiercely in the cave. Nightwing was, as always, entirely suited up. Kahlan, on the other hand, only wore her sleek full-body black cat suit lined in gold, matching gloves, and light weight boots. The pads on her shoulders were light and maneuverable and the only gear she had was a pair of daggers strapped to her left thigh and a sword strapped to her back. She left her weapons and the mask, which normally covered from the neck of her cat-suit to the bridge of her nose, were all left to the side, her golden eyes sharp and her dark brown hair left to flow freely past her breast.

They were still sparring when everyone else went home or went to bed, a common occurrence since the two returned to the team after Kaldur went undercover. Running the team, with the size it had grown to, as well as keeping so many secrets from the team…it was stressful.

They weren’t holding back, if they had there wouldn’t be so many bruises left under their suits. Kahlan jumped to wrap her long, lithe legs around Nightwing’s head and hold him in a lock but Nightwing managed to block her left leg from wrapping around his head. Instead, her left leg was thrown over his shoulder and she used it to keep herself perched on Nightwing’s shoulder, though it was unlikely she would fall. Nightwing kept a tight hold on Kahlan’s right leg, his arm wrapped around her right thigh and his hand firm on her upper thigh, almost at her rear. Kahlan stretched and leaned forward, reaching for one of the escrema sticks Nightwing kept at his belt. Nightwing knew what she was reaching for and reached up with his free hand to grab her by the back of her skin-tight suit and pulled her back up. Kahlan reached for her closest purchase, which happened to be Nightwing’s free shoulder and his soft, black hair.

They stayed there, frozen in the intimate position as they stared at each other. Nightwing’s muscles were aching from the hours of training they had put in but Kahlan was so light he didn’t have to put her down. Kahlan couldn’t help herself as she played with her sparring partner’s hair with her gloved hand. She could feel his muscles begin to relax. It was an intimate and private moment between the two…

So Kahlan threw herself forward with all her strength, putting her arms forward to catch herself so she could perform a flawless flip and throw Nightwing down on his back. Nightwing landed with a groan and as Kahlan got back up, favoring her right side. The cave computer declared Kahlan the winner as Nightwing got up.

“That was cheap.”

“Playing fair doesn’t save the day bird boy, especially when everyone else has superpowers,” Kahlan retorted, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she limped over to pick up her mask and weapons. Her hips still swayed despite her limp and Nightwing took a moment to admire her hips before getting up himself. Most of his injuries were above the belt, though he’d admit he put in a pretty cheap shot to Kahlan’s ankle in the beginning.

“Come on, let me help you to one of the spare rooms,” he said when he noticed her limp.

“I’m fine,” Kahlan protested.

“Kahlan.”

“Dick.”

“Funny,” Nightwing retorted with sarcasm too thick to be cut with a knife, “Very funny.”

“Not my fault if it’s true,” Kahlan smirked in response before taking a wrong step and hissing as pain shot through her ankle. It was just a strain, but it still hurt like a bitch. Nightwing rolled his eyes behind his mask and stepped forward to help the stubborn woman. He took her wrist and gently guided her arm over his shoulders, and she leaned against him, giving him the opening to swoop down and sweep her off her feet and carry her back to one of the spare rooms.

“I can walk,” Kahlan protested.

“No, Kay, you can limp. You can’t walk.”

“Fine, then let me limp to one of the spare rooms.”

“You’re my partner beautiful, it’s my job to take care of you when you’re hurt,” Nightwing retorted as he bumped one of the automatic doors open and stepped inside the bare bedroom, the door shutting and locking behind them.

“Says the jackass that sprained my ankle in the first place.”

Nightwing dropped Kahlan on the bed and the woman let out an uncharacteristic squeak. He smirked down at her, taking off his mask, belt, and gloves.

“Maybe I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t get away this time,” Dick smirked with a mischievous spark in his blue eyes as he pounced onto the bed, cornering his partner as he ran his hands through Kahlan’s silky hair and kissed her slowly and passionately-like he always did.

The girls were mostly right, the tension between them was partially sexual, but they assumed if they had sex it would go away. In truth, what wasn’t sexual was Kahlan’s misunderstood desire to keep Dick safe combating her difficulty at understanding why he could possibly want to keep her safe and mixed with Dick’s frustration in keeping his partner safe when trouble followed her more faithfully than her own shadow. It wasn’t easy. In fact it was easily the hardest thing either of them had ever done, but it was worth it.


	3. Healthy Competition (Tim-Undecided Universe)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza worked her ass off to be the smartest kid in class. She thought she'd have it easy in college. She was wrong.

Eliza was excited when she had been accepted to Gotham University on an entirely academic scholarship which covered all of her expenses, including room and board on the campus. It wasn’t a complete surprise; Eliza had been accepted to Gotham Private Academy on an entirely academic scholarship as well. Of course, while she was there she had spent the entire time competing with Bruce Wayne’s ward Timothy Drake.

Eliza really shouldn’t have been surprised when she saw him in her Cultural Anthropology class but she was still frustrated. A guy could be smart, attractive, and good at sports and nobody would be surprised. However, if a girl was smart and blonde with blue eyes it must be a miracle at the hands of every god in the universe.

Still, she was going to take the high road. She adjusted her black thick frame glasses and went back to reading her favorite book: ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,’ in the original Swedish language instead of the English translation. She was quiet and shy, so she didn’t even notice that her hands were clasped tightly in her lap and her ankles were locked together. She bit her bottom lip as she read, deeply absorbing the words in her book even though she practically had the entire book memorized.

Tim had an entirely different reaction to seeing Eliza. He was happy. For starters she was a familiar face, though Tim never had a problem socializing with people but she was more than smart enough to keep a conversation with. Hell, she was probably smarter than him and she was so beautiful… Sure, he was no Dick but he could have pretty much any girl he wanted, including superheroes, and yet he had fallen head over heels for this feisty, blond civilian. 

He stopped and observed her for a second, and no longer, as she read the same book she’s been reading at least once a year since she discovered it. It was adorable how she could still be sucked into the book after all this time. He sat across the aisle from her, knowing she’d grow suspicious if he sat right next to her. He was young and angry when he first entered the Academy after his parents died, and had formed a competitive relationship with her-to his displeasure when he realized he had fallen for her.

God he felt like a stalker, making sure she got back to her dorm as she made her way back from work. She worked every weekend, without fail, and walking down the streets of Gotham on weekend nights was more dangerous than poking a pressure sensitive bomb. To top things off Batman was catching on. Robin was supposed to be helping with a stake out, instead he asked Nightwing to cover for him as he made sure Eliza got home safe. It took fifteen minutes longer that Tim had planned to convince Batman he had somewhere he absolutely had to be and now he was late. Eliza was now walking down Crime Alley unsupervised.

Robin grappled and glided through the city as fast as he could, catching up to Eliza just in time. She had fought, despite multiple attackers, and the black V-neck t-shirt she had worn to work ended up ripped, there was a bruise forming on her shoulder, her hair had fallen out of the braid she normally kept it in, and tears were pouring down her cheeks. The boy wonder leapt into action without a thought, kicking one of the thugs to the side before pulling out his staff.

“Leave the lady alone,” he threatened

“Or what? You gonna’ take us on bird boy? All on your own? Where’s the ba-“ the thug didn’t get to finish before he got the butt end of Robin’s staff to his throat.

Eliza pulled her hoodie close, attempting to cover herself as she tried to back away further into the wall behind her. She had seen Robin fight before, mostly on the news but one time she had caught him as he and Batman took on a group of classic Gotham thugs, and she had never seen him so…brutal. The second Robin had been and the first one was impulsive, but the third was more calculating and exact. Something that had, admittedly, made him her favorite but now? It was like he was angry, like he had taken the attack on her personally.

When the thugs were down Robin spun his staff before collapsing it and tucking it back into one of the packs on his belt. He knelt down in front of Eliza, even though she was standing up, and asked with a furrowed brow, 

“Are you alright, ma’am?”

Eliza nodded dumbly, and shyly, “Y-yeah…I’ll be okay…I’ll need to find another route home…”

“Would you like me to escort you home tonight?” he asked, still kneeling in front of her and looking up at her through his mask. His voice was so familiar; like she had burned it into her head but she couldn’t quite connect it to a face…yet. She was so close.

Eliza nodded again, “Yes, thank you very much…for everything…if you hadn’t shown up-“

“I’ll always be there to save the day,” he smiled up at her confidently, “I promise you that.”

Eliza couldn’t help but blush smile at that, “Okay, my knight in a not-so-shiny cape, how are we getting to the G.U. dorms?”

Robin stood up and gently wrapped a firm arm around Eliza’s waist and pulled her close, “Hang on, and please don’t scream.”

“What? Why would I-Jesus Fuck!” Eliza wrapped her arms around her savior’s neck and buried her face into his shoulder to keep from screaming. Tim had to smirk, Eliza always had a way with words. Eliza was too terrified to notice. People were not meant to travel like this. This was how monkeys and Tarzan traveled, not people who live in a city. She tried to sneak a peek at the view but the ground was so far down and they were moving so fast she shut her eyes and buried her face right back into Robin’s shoulder. They stopped just outside her dorm room and she felt him shake a bit as they stood there, her arms still wrapped snugly around his neck and her face still buried in his shoulder.

“You can look up now, we’re at the G.U. dorms,” he teased but didn’t force Eliza to pull away. He didn’t know he’d like holding her this much, he didn’t want to let go. She slowly peeked up at him with one eye before pulling away and smiling shyly and trying to hide her blush.

“Thank you again.”

“Any time, and uh…check out Wayne Tech. I hear they’re hiring. Not that I don’t like saving you but I don’t think either of us like you being in trouble.”

“I’ll do that, the walk will certainly be shorter and a lot safer.” Eliza was so close to figuring it out, the way he spoke it was like they had met before. Robin’s attention was drawn elsewhere, giving Eliza the chance to examine his features. The hood of his suit and his mask were making it difficult.

“I’ve gotta go, Batman calls.”

“Be careful out there,” Eliza smiled, badging into her dorm building. The second she was inside Robin left, he had been waiting for her to get inside.

It wasn’t until Monday when it all clicked, and she felt like a massive moron.

It was in her Cultural Anthropology class when she and Tim were arguing during a class discussion. She didn’t call him out on it, she wasn’t that stupid, she waited until they were in private.

“Thanks for the lift on Saturday, and the save,” Eliza said as they packed up their things. To anyone else it would be a casual conversation, but it made Tim freeze.

“Y-you…you figured it out?”

“Giving me a job recommendation when the job opening wasn’t even announced to Wayne Tech. employees didn’t help your case. On the plus side, Mr. Fox took a total of two hours to hire me so thanks for that,” Eliza held her books close and stood directly in front of Tim, her big crystal colored eyes looking up at him with that ever present sparkle.

“Most people don’t think about that.”

“Most people aren’t smarter than you.”

“That…is very true but if I kept following you home my boss was going to catch on and read me the riot act.”

“You followed me home from work?” Eliza furrowed her brow. She wasn’t expecting that, and Tim nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

“I um…would you like to get coffee sometime? Or a study date?” Trim tried to change the subject to something less embarrassing.

Eliza smiled and teased. “Well, you did save me. I suppose being your tutor is the least I could do.”

“Oh ha-ha. Your grade is only .25% higher than mine.,” Tim protested, earning a laugh from Eliza as she left the lecture hall.

“Still higher bird brain.”


	4. Come Home (Jason-Arkham Knight)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Girls never really get over their first love. Especially when death rips them away from her, and she blames herself for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst and some out of character-ness.

He watched as she continued her life without him. He was angry, angry that she could move on but then he looked away from her as she dried her thick curls, so black they shined blue. He looked at the pictures that surrounded her small apartment. There were a few of her with her friends but many of him and her together. She dropped the towel she had been drying herself with and pulled on a t-shirt that he recognized, she had stolen it from him before…

“Hey boy,” she said to one of the pictures, not knowing her apartment was bugged, “It’s that time of year again…or it will be in a few minutes…don’t know why I’m trying to go to be sober. I’m going to end up having nightmares about that video all over again. I never should have let you take off like that, not on your own. If I had found you faster or had just gone with you in the first place maybe…I know, I know I'd be dead too but...it's better than thinking that it's my fault you're gone...”

As long as he had known her Aria never cried. Hell, she got angry and yelled at Rose at the end of 'Titanic,' but she was on the brink of sobbing, after all these years…

“I know we were teenagers but…I loved you, you know? Still do I guess…girls don’t get over their first love. Not really, not when they go and do a stupid thing like die,” she let out a short, bitter laugh, “If you can hear me…please…don’t be dead…please, Jason, just come home.”

The Arkham Knight watched from a distance as the only superhuman on Team Bat placed the picture back in her bedside table and curled up into bed. She looked so helpless and alone. It…changed things. Not everything but…he should have known he couldn’t stay angry at her. He could just imagine those big brown doe eyes looking up at him and the freckles on her lightly tanned skin. No, she’d be kept safe in the coming war.

“I’ll be home soon Aria.”


	5. Told You So (Bruce-Undecided Universe)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce needs to be more careful about who he keeps secrets from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like, if I had been Bruce's childhood friend and found out he had been Batman for years and actively lied to me to hide it from me, I'd be very angry with him.

Bruce still remembered the first time he saw Elizabeth. It was only hours after his parents were killed and Jim Gordon, a detective at the time, brought in his goddaughter to sit with the newly orphaned boy. Bruce was sitting in a chair in a row of empty chairs along the wall. He was still in utter shock, his gray-blue eyes staring down at his hands when he saw someone’s hand take hold of his. He looked up and saw her. She didn’t smile, she didn’t try to convince him it was alright because even at their young age she knew it wasn’t. She just looked at him with pale green eyes to let him know, he might not know her but she was there for him. Young Bruce, who still had yet to cry that evening, leaned forward onto Elizabeth’s shoulder and sobbed. She had been a necessary constant in his life ever since.

Alfred still remembered when he first met Elizabeth, officially. He had seen her the night Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, though by the time he had reached young Bruce the two had fallen into a deep sleep. It could hardly be excused, it was late and Bruce had been through quite the traumatic experience. The first thing that had been on Alfred’s mind was how and when would he get the boy to sleep, and yet the girl with pale brown, almost blonde, hair managed to pull it off only hours after meeting Bruce. He didn’t officially meet Elizabeth until a few days later, Detective Gordon had brought Elizabeth with him to speak with Bruce about the investigation. To think the quiet girl had grown into the strong woman she was today…though he suspected being friends with Bruce had that kind of impact on her. For years, even after Dick became the first Robin, Bruce absolutely refused to confess his identity to Elizabeth, until the night he had to rescue her.

It was an occupational hazard for a prosecutor in Gotham, she knew that, but that didn’t keep her from being absolutely terrified when Two-Face kidnapped her. She should have known he would eventually, she had been hoping the fact that they had dated before he became a psychotic criminal would prevent that. She was staring down the edge of a knife, trying her hardest to keep her composure, but she still squeezed her wide eyes shut and waited for the cut that never came. Instead she heard her would-be torturer wheeze as the breath was knocked out of him before falling to the floor with an unconscious thump. She slowly opened one eye to find herself looking up at the infamous Batman. Most people didn't really work with Batman, Commissioner Gordon was pretty much the only one who worked with him.

“You’re safe now,” he said in a deep, rough voice that sounded unbelievably familiar. Until now she had never actually met him. She just looked up and nodded dumbly, following him into the Batmobile and watching out the window with wide eyes as they sped to the outskirts of the city and to a…

“Rock wall! Rock wall! Rock wall!” Elizabeth shrieked before curling up in a ball to cover her eyes, as if that would cushion the blow. When it didn’t come she slowly peaked her head up to see they were in what had to be the most elaborate cave in the world. She was so busy looking around the cave that, after the door opened, she almost didn’t notice Batman standing there holding a gloved hand out to her. She took it and he helped her out of the car before walking directly towards a computer that had to put the once Elizabeth had seen at Wayne Tech to shame.

“Hey, you’re back. Why wouldn’t you let me-“ Dick froze when he saw Elizabeth walking from the car to the computer, looking around as she did so. When she heard Dick’s voice she froze before looking directly at the boy, who would be turning ten in a few weeks.

“Dick? What are you-“ Elizabeth froze when it clicked and though her expression didn’t change, the look in her green eyes certainly did. She slowly turned her head to look at the still-masked vigilante standing at the computer. She smiled too sweetly as she walked over to her childhood friend, who sighed and pulled his cowl down. On one hand Dick really wanted to watch Bruce get chewed out by a civilian woman half his size, on the other hand he didn't want to be witness to the gruesome murder of Bruce Wayne. Bruce was going to explain, to soften the blow.

So naturally Elizabeth slapped him before he could get a word out.

“Why? Why didn’t you tell me? We’ve been friends since we were kids, did you seriously think I’d never find out after what happened to Harvey? Didn’t you think I could help? What the hell is wrong with you?” Elizabeth snapped before turning on her heel and storming up the stairs Dick had just walked down calling for Alfred.

“Ah, Miss Elizabeth. I presume you have discovered Master Bruce’s…evening activities.”

“I love you Al, but you didn’t discipline that lying asshole nearly enough,” Elizabeth said it as kindly as she could, but she was still absolutely livid, “I’m going home.”

“I shall drive you ma’am.”

“Thank you.”

Down in the cave, Bruce was still stunned. In all the years they had known each other that was the first time Elizabeth had ever hit him. Sure she could be absolutely terrifying when they were growing up, but she had never actually gotten violent. He would have stayed there, stunned, but Dick opened his mouth.

“Is now a bad time to say ‘we told you so’?”


	6. Perfect For The Job (Bruce-BVS)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce went through secretaries like most companies went through temps. Every single one was chased off by living in Gotham, most people didn't realize things were as psychotically dangerous as they were, or an attack directly against Wayne Enterprises, or just the mere stress of the job itself. Bruce paid the phenomenon no mind, he wasn't one to get attached to everyone, and then she showed up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing.
> 
> Blame Batfleck.
> 
> It's safe to say this will be an ongoing series within the one-shot collection.
> 
> Maybe it'll become it's own story.

Max Thropp was a girl from the streets of Gotham who had gotten a job as a secretary in Wayne Enterprises and _somehow_ worked her way up until she was the assistant to none other than billionaire Bruce Wayne.  She had no idea how that happened, then again she had no idea how she ended up training to be an assassin and being turned into a superhuman as a fucking _kid_.  She had a history of ended up places she had _no_ business being in and _no_ idea how it happened.

She rode the elevator to the top floor, because what man in charge of a multi-billion-dollar company _doesn’t_ have a fancy office that takes up the entire top floor of a skyscraper?  Her thick dark-brown hair was tied back in a neat ponytail that sat high on the back of her head and her big pale blue eyes were lined in a light layer of black eyeliner and black mascara on her long, thick eyelashes.  Out of habit she bit her bottom lip, painted a pale pink not far from their natural color and the light layer of blush and foundation she wore only accented her soft features and rounded heart-shaped face.  Her black pumps that buckled around her ankle made no sound against the carpet and the black and white plaid skirt of her dress that hung loosely around her mid-thighs and rose up to her bust where it clung tightly to her thin waist and laced up with black silk lace in the front.  The top was a white silk, wide V-neck with a few loose ruffles as wide as the sleeves that only covered from where her shoulder met became her bicep to the middle of her shoulder.

She walked across the front room, which she assumed would be where she would work, to the large double door leading to her new-ish boss’s office.  She made sure to stop and pick up the mail that sat on her desk and sort through it.  She might have just started a few minutes ago but she could already tell what was trash, what she could take care of, and what Mr. Wayne needed to address personally.  She knocked and waited for the muffled ‘come in’ before stepping into the office.  She had heard it said that checking out your boss is a definite ‘no-no,’ but she had never had that kind of problem.  Not until _now_ anyway-seriously Greek statues of fucking _Adonis_ didn’t hold a candle to the standing behind the heavy mahogany desk at the other side of the large office.

Bruce heard the door open and close and looked up to see his new assistant making her way across the office.  The last girl had quit after a fairly hostile attack from the Penguin, and he couldn’t blame her.  He was honestly surprised the old Fox managed to find someone so quickly, but the old man was absolutely convinced this girl was perfect for the job even before Kristen quit-after only working there for two months.  Bruce looked up from his work, he never could sit at his desk for too long so he would settle for standing and slowly pacing behind it, occasionally making his way to the bar the right side of his office to pour himself a drink.

That routine was going to change to something that involved a little more time spent with the gorgeous new secretary making her way across his office.  She was already looking through the mail for the day and had pulled a few letters out for him to read when she reached his desk.

“Hi, Mr. Wayne, I’m Max Thropp the new secretary.”  Those soft pink lips turned up in a perfect smile and she reached across the desk to shake Bruce’s hand.  He took her delicate hand in his larger one and shook it, though not as firmly as he normally would.  God, she looked like he could _break_ her with his bare hands and all he could think about was pinning her down on his desk and-

“Just call me Bruce, please,” he replied, like he always did with the new secretaries.  They had a tendency of leaving as most of them were from outside Gotham and didn’t realize how crazy Gotham criminals actually are, but Bruce felt like Max was going to stay.

“Alright, Bruce,” Max nodded and tried out his name in a light-hearted manner before handing two letters to him, “These are from Mr. Fox, I figured you’d want to look at them yourself, this last one is from Lex Luthor.  I’m assuming he’s offering to buy the R&D department and I’m assuming the answer is something along the lines of ‘fuck off.’”

“You assume correctly, just don’t put that in the actual response,” Bruce chuckled a little, unprepared for Max’s response.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Max joked, her lips pursing into a lighthearted pout, before turning on the balls of her feet, the skirt of her dress flaring slightly, before she made her way to her desk where she would type up the official rejection.  Bruce watched Max, with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk, as he admired the sway of her hips and those long lithe legs.

The old Fox was right; Max was perfect for the job.


	7. Whisper Pt. 1 (Dick-Arkham Series)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They weren't a couple, commitment was difficult for both Dick and Ana, but that didn't mean he didn't care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a series with a triangle between Dick, Ana (Whisper), and Jason. Not quite sure how it's going to end to be honest.
> 
> On that note, I know he's just a pile of pixels but have you seen Dick's eyes in Arkham Knight? I didn't know blue be get that blue.

Dick always wondered why Batman worked with Catwoman.  He even asked, when he was Robin, why he allowed Catwoman’s heists to go _unnoticed_ if she gave him valuable information.  They could have found the information on their own, why didn’t they just take Catwoman into custody and let her face the consequences of her crimes?

He found out why when he got to Bludhaven, and discovered that some information just wasn’t accessible to him.  During his time in Bludhaven, fairly early on actually, he came across the _Whisper_.  He had heard of the information broker, both Batman and Oracle had referenced the information broker multiple times, and Batman had, admittedly indirect, dealings with the broker from time-to-time.  Dick became more closely associated with the world-class thief turned spy than any other hero or vigilante-to the point that they knew each other’s identities.  Dick learned that the infamous Whisper’s real identity was Anastasia Jovovich, the daughter of a poor Russian immigrant who was deep in debt to every mob, mafia, and crime boss in Bludhaven and Gotham.  As a result, in order to make money to pay off the debt, Ana became street savvy and taught herself all the skills she would need to steal, blackmail, and otherwise illegally earn the money all by the time she was 15.

Her background certainly explained the remarkably dark side she had, and why she felt no remorse when she picked up a gun and pulled the trigger.  Dick _hated_ it, really he did, but in the number of years he had known Ana he knew of only three times she had resorted to using a gun-all three times both of their lives had been on the line.  He might not have had the stomach kill to save them, but she was.  While he wasn’t fond of the things she had done, and was willing to do, it didn’t stop them from having a flirtatious, occasionally romantic, and commonly sexual relationship.

He had a thing for no-nonsense girls that could kick his ass.

After Joker took over Arkham Asylum, Ana had found something she found particularly intriguing.  She didn’t have nearly as much information to relay to Dick and she had even put aside some local investigations.  Dick was concerned, but he didn’t have time to act on those concerns.  Ana was packed up and disappeared before he could say anything-she had even stopped taking new clients and almost entirely shut down her Whisper operation.  Dick caught her as she slung her duffle bag over her shoulder.

“Hey, wait,” Dick stopped her with a hand on her wrist, “What’s going on?”

“New investigation, I have to go to South America.” Ana tried to leave.

“Ana, wait, let me help,” Dick pleaded, his pure blue eyes meeting with her sea-green eyes.

“It’s better if you stay out of it.  I’ll be back in no time, I promise,” she smiled and kissed his cheek lightly, goading him into letting her go.  Dick just stood in Ana’s apartment and watched as she left, assuming he’d hear from her again soon.

It wasn’t until after Arkham City was torn down and reconstruction was well underway that he heard from her again.

_Meet you in Gotham, big trouble coming-Bat **will** need help.  _

_Look up North Refrigeration._

_-S.B._

Well…now he had even more questions.  He began investigating _North Refrigeration_ in the hopes he would get more answers, and in a way he did.

Turned out _North Refrigeration_ was a front for Penguin’s gun smuggling outfit, and they were smuggling a _lot_ of guns-even for Penguin.


	8. Creed Pt. 1 (You Interest Me) (Damian-Undecided Universe)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An assassin has made their way to Gotham, an assassin the likes of which Gotham hasn't seen in almost a century. The only one who recognizes the work of this assassin is Damian-who is the only one to recognize just how dangerous the Creed is.

The second they arrived at the scene, Damian recognized the style immediately.

_The hooded figure moved across the rooftops uninhibited, leaping from impossible heights without a single hit of trepidation or the faintest sign of slowing down._

A single stab wound to the neck, angled like it came from above.  No sign of entry or exit, no witnesses, no fingerprints, no evidence except the victim, nothing overhead except scaffolding that not even _Grayson_ could walk across without making a noise or displacing the dust.

_The hooded figure crept along the scaffolding, waiting for the moment to strike.  They blinked, golden eyes glowing eerily as their vision changed, the target glowing gold in the blue environment.  The target moved and the assassin followed, waiting for the moment to strike._

It was only a matter of time until they found out the truth behind the victim, a heartless man who had made a fortune off of the blood and work of the innocent.  It was only a matter of time until the victim’s cohorts met the same end.

" _Father, we cannot interfere in this,” Damian tried to warn Bruce, he had.  The League of Assassin’s were not fearless, not entirely.  They feared very little in truth, even death, but they feared the **Creed**._

_“We can’t let a murderer loose on the streets.”_

_It wasn’t murder, it was an assassination.  An act of killing the few to save the many-the **world**._

_“You don’t even know where to begin fighting this assassin.”_

_Nobody did, that was the point.  They were very few in numbers, time had not been kind to them, but that had only proved to make them more deadly._

The victims were members of the Court of Owls.  This was bigger than they originally thought.  It was only a matter of time-

_A Talon.  A fucking **Talon** was found dead, hanging from the top of Gotham’s Lady like a warning.  That was when Bruce began to understand.  All evidence proved what Damian had said about this Creed Assassin, there was only one in the city, but Damian and Bruce had struggled with a Talon as a team.  How could just one assassin, and not a large one by the looks of the evidence, do **this**?_

She was hiding in plain sight.  They had known the identity of the Bat and his Robins from the start, it wasn’t as hard to figure out as they would have liked.  They had even gone out of their way to cover up the identities of the Wayne family.  They had been doing well, there was no need to intervene, but the Court of Owls was getting out of control and **somebody** needed to eliminate them.

The young woman sat at her assigned table observing those in attendance of the banquet as she casually sipped at her dark red wine.  Everyone in her situation made the same mistake, taking the identity of someone who hadn’t been in attendance of these parties for years despite being on the list of invited guests for years.  It was far better, and safer, to be the new face to the new name on the list.  New faces appeared at every party and disappeared just as quickly.  She expected to catch the attention of many people in attendance, but one surprised her.

“I’m surprised you came to talk, rumor had it you loathe these gatherings,” her red painted lips turned up in a coy smile as her golden eyes sparked with mischief, eyeing the young man who was only a few years older than her.  Her voice was soft and smooth, most of the British women he had encountered had sharp, attentive voices but not her.  The only thing that struck him more than her eyes was her deep, dark crimson hair that flowed elegantly in waves over her shoulders.  He had never said this to any woman before and _meant_ it, but he supposed there had to be one eventually.

“You…interest me."


	9. Whisper Pt. 2 (Jason-Arkham Series)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whisper has made her way into the Arkham Knight's militia, it didn't take much. Now, all that was left was getting close to the Knight himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never too late to update, right?
> 
> I got caught up in finals and tried to console myself by crying while I played Arkham Knight, then I got to the part where Jason unmasks himself and I sobbed even more.

There were only a handful of agents in the Arkham Knight’s militia, the Knight had a very high standard for agents, higher than any other position in the militia. There were even less women, it wasn’t a gender issue it was simply a question of how many women that went into the business and had the skills the Knight was looking for. Still, all things considered it didn’t take long for Ana to be noticed-let alone be accepted in the training camp. They didn’t even have a uniform that could fit her, leaving her to fend for herself until somebody bothered to put one together for her.

She was recommended as an agent to the Knight within the first two months of her arrival. That in itself piqued his interest, and he watched her training himself. He was sufficiently impressed, and amused, as he watched the small blonde woman continue to demolish her opponents especially considering her self-made uniform.   
The tight black pants she wore hung low on her hips and a thick belt held handcuffs, throwing knifes, extra clips for the guns she held on action holsters on her lithe thighs, and other things she might find useful as an agent. Her deep maroon long-sleeve shirt was decorated with the Militia logo on the front and back, there were two holes cut out on her shoulders to leave them bare, and the shirt itself only covered the top half of her torso-leaving the bottom of her ribs down to her hips bare. Her black fingerless gloves were clearly worn in and so were her black combat boots and the black leather wraps around her elbows to add both a little padding and an extra punch to her hits when she used her elbows. She was experienced, he could tell that much.

It was a common training exercise, both for the new recruits and the more senior-and experienced agents. A gauntlet, groups of new recruits were put up against higher ranked members. One new recruit made the remark that it wouldn’t be long before she was their bitch, she had him screaming in pain in a few seconds-after she sped forward and gripped a pressure point on his wrist and twisted his arm in what could only be describe as an unnatural direction. The recruit that regained his senses first rushed at her from behind and she pivoted her body to land a particularly harsh kick to his face, making him black out instantly. She snapped her first victim’s wrist before kneeing him in the face, knocking him out as well.

“Next!” she ordered, looking at the others. They surrounded her, attacking her at once, and that didn’t make a difference. They were all down in barely two minutes. It was obvious she was highly skilled, and he wasn’t going to get a good read on her skills by watching her fight a bunch of newbies.

She spun on her heel and blocked his punch with a high kick. She heard him approach and blocked him easily, impressive. She didn’t pause when she saw him, instead she just continued with her counter attack. She was good, potentially even as good as he was and definitely the best in the militia. He had her pinned down, hand to her throat and gun at her head, but she still smirked. She looked down then back up to his masked face and winked as she looked at him with a flirty little smirk. He looked down and noticed that she had taken his second gun, and had it pressed against the center of his rib cage.

“You really should consider a snap holster, takes a little getting used to but at least I won’t be able to shoot you with your own gun…maybe…”

The surrounding officers stared at her with terrified, wide eyes. She just smart mouthed the commander when he had a gun to her head, because she picked his pocket. They couldn’t even imagine what he was going to do to her.

The Knight pulled his gun away and holstered it as he got up, snatching his second gun from the woman as she got up herself. She stood there, on hand on her hip and an eyebrow cocked, as she watched him. She couldn’t see the smirk that was hidden under his helmet. She had two guns of her own but had the skill to use one of his own guns against him.

“Report to me first thing tomorrow.”

“Yes sir,” she mock saluted as he walked away. 

She would be a massive pain in the ass, but her skills were worth it.


	10. I Spy A Bat (Perfect For The Job Pt. 2) (BVS Bruce)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After all these years, after all the death, he thought he'd be smart enough to stay away. He wasn't. There was just...something about Max...something that intrigued him far too much to stay away.
> 
> Max was just trying to live a normal life, at least until the abnormalities in her life came back. She knew it wouldn't be long, but she hadn't expected Batman to be involved.

For once, Max could actually afford an apartment that didn’t have grass growing through the bathroom floor. That was only in her first apartment, she had moved into a much nicer apartment the second she got her first job at Wayne Enterprises and had stayed there until her lease was up. Now, she was getting paid a hell of a lot more money and her lease was going to expire fairly soon, so it was time to start looking. That was when she found it, a beautiful two-story apartment with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a kitchen with a gas stove. On top of that there was valet parking, a gym, a pool and hot tub, and it was available in two weeks.

It wasn’t hard to get it, all she had to do was casually mention she was Bruce Wayne’s personal secretary and bam, dream apartment come true. It was handy, but she couldn’t make a habit out of using that little perk. Getting moved in wasn’t a problem, she hired professional movers to get everything there and in place, after that it was a matter of unpacking.

Max didn’t sleep much, a result of…we’ll just call it a difficult past for now. She stayed up late to unpack and caught a very unexpected sight-Batman was on the roof of the building across from hers. She had seen him, seen the infamous car, jet, and bike, but she had never been quite this close, and with the floor to ceiling sliding-glass doors that led to a balcony that spanned the length of the second floor of her apartment-she couldn’t help herself. She put down the clothes she was unpacking and wandered over to the sliding glass door, which she yanked open, and stepped out onto the balcony.

This was a bad idea, it was a horrible idea, but he just couldn’t stop himself. He had attempted to look Max up but besides a high-school diploma, a business degree, his employment history at Wayne Enterprises, and her contact information-he found nothing on the woman. She was a complete mystery, a rare thing.

She had spotted him. Admittedly he wasn’t in an ideal spot to disappear entirely, but he knew normal people wouldn’t have been able to find him-not anyone who didn’t have any training. She ignored the wind blowing through the city entirely, to her defense it was still only the end of July, and yet she wore nothing put a pair of pink women’s briefs, a gray shirt that she tied up around her waist and rolled the long sleeves up to her elbows and a neck wide enough to hang off of her shoulder, the warmest thing were the pink fuzzy socks she wore on her feet.

She leaned forward against the black railing on her balcony and looked directly at the Batman, who was watching her. It wasn’t a secret that the Bat was familiar with the Prince of Gotham, he had been familiar with Harvey Dent before he became Two-Face and was on a first-name basis with Commissioner Gordon…as much as he could be at any rate. Still, she hadn’t thought he would check up on her. She wasn’t a target for the local crazies…right?

The wind sent a chill through her spine, at least that’s what she blamed it on. In truth it was the piercing gaze she was receiving from the Bat from across the street. Her brown hair blew in the wind and the shiver down her spine caused her to wrap her arms around herself, even though it was a warm night. She stood there waiting for…something to happen, she didn’t know what he was going to do.

He didn’t know what he was going to do. He hadn’t expected the living mystery to have the training required to spot him out. There was more to her than he originally thought, and yet that did nothing to deter him. He was considering approaching the woman before the signal lit up the city sky. Max’s eyes flitted up to the sky before back to the Bat to watch him disappear into the night.

Max turned back around and went back to her apartment, shutting and locking the sliding-glass door behind her. She took a few silent steps across the plush carpet of her bedroom before pulling out the drawer of her nightstand and pulling out a black jack knife. She flipped it around expertly, checking the blade before tucking it under her pillow, where she hid her black Sig 1911. She checked the clip and made sure there was a round in the barrel before clicking on the safety and tucking it back into place. She didn’t think the Bat was a threat to her, but she couldn’t sleep without her knife and gun close by.

She checked the time before climbing into bed and setting her alarm. She didn’t have to go into the office the next day, but she would still like to have enough time to do some more unpacking before she had to go back to work on Monday. Hopefully by then her silent staring contest with Batman would be chased out of her mind.


	11. Songbird (Damian-TTvJL)

As if his battle with his hormones when he was around Blue Bird wasn’t enough, now she was going to be at the annual Wayne Enterprises Gala. There had been no direct threats, however this would be the first year that none of Gotham’s psychotic villains had attacked. So, Batman called in Blue Bird. It wasn’t a secret that Laurel Queen had the voice of a songbird, and being the daughter of Oliver Queen she would fit in at the gala.

Yes, he was underage, yes, he was supposed to be sober in order to prevent attacks, but he needed the liquor. Laurel was up there on the stage, dressed in a form-fitting deep blue evening gown with sheer lace sleeves and a low-cut back so low the small of her back was bare. Her soft blonde hair was tied up in an elegant bun and two strands were left loose and lightly curled to frame her face. Her blue eyes shined and were absolutely stunning, her earrings were simple diamond earrings with strands of silver hanging down an inch and a half. She moved so elegantly across the floor on her deep blue pumps and the way she sang made it impossible to believe that very same voice could cause so much destruction.

She was the infamous Laurel Queen, she couldn’t spend the entire night on stage, eventually she joined the party and mingled with the other social elite. She smiled and laughed politely, but she was uncomfortable. During one of many a gathering of the Teen Titans, she had mentioned that she hated social gatherings, and she hated pretending to be the elegant and lady-like daughter of Oliver Queen.

So, as the band began another song, Damian took the blonde girl by the hand and pulled her away from what was clearly a lengthy and miserable conversation with one of the older members of the Wayne Enterprises Board. He whisked her away onto the dance floor and into his arms before she knew what had happened. She looked up at him with surprised wide blue eyes and her soft pink lips were parted lightly in surprise.

“I’ve been stuck talking to old man Marcus before, and you looked like you were about to throw yourself to the floor and play dead,” he explained as he led her around the dancefloor.

“I was, actually, thank you,” Laurel replied with a smile, “Thanks for the save.”

“Any time,” he responded with a sly smirk that caused a warm blush to spread on Laurel’s cheeks. They danced the next two songs in a comfortable silence before Laurel had to go back to the stage for the next few songs. He didn’t let her leave without a teasing ‘I’ll be waiting,’ and a smirk when he caught the blush on the blonde's cheeks. He made his way back to the bar to grab a drink and caught the way Dick was grinning at him.

“Quiet, Grayson,” he snapped.

“Normally I’d say fine but _not today!_ ” Dick continued grinning, “You’ve so got a thing for-“

_“Quiet!”_


	12. Secret Identities (Terry-Batman Beyond)

After so many years living on the streets, it was only a matter of time.  Selina Kyle had found Luna Knight living on the streets, she had the gift.  All Selina needed to do was teach her a few more tricks, perfect her combat technique, and Gotham had a new Catwoman, just in time for the new Batman.

Selina was right, toying with the Bat was just too much fun.  Luna made a game of it, and she was thoroughly enjoying that game, until Selina let a little fact slip.  Having known who the first Batman was, it didn’t take long for her to figure out who the new Batman was, especially after Luna mentioned her friend Terry had recently begun working for billionaire Bruce Wayne at practically the same time the new Batman showed up.  Selina decided to keep that little fact secret, professional curtesy but she was old and sometimes she forgot.

That was the story she was sticking with anyway.  After finding out Luna had used a narcotic seal on her lips to knock out the Bat so she could get away…Selina couldn’t resist letting it slip.  She’d been rooting for the teenagers to hook up for _years_ and hearing Luna joke about how _‘it was a good kiss before he passed out, very hot,’_ well…she couldn’t help it.

“No… _noooo_ ,” Luna groaned, “McGinnis?  I kissed McGinnis?  I kissed a guy that’s been my best friend since we were 13?”

“I’m surprised it took you two this long to smooch,” Selina retorted, “Besides, from the sound of it you two did more than just an innocent little kiss.  You sure you didn’t do more than just pull his mask half-way up?  Maybe start pulling to suit down?”

“Gran!  I swear!”

“Oh, please, if I didn’t say anything you’d be concerned.”

 

On the outskirts of town, Terry was having a fairly similar conversation with his own mentor.

“Ugh, my head…I’m still dizzy…” Terry groaned.  He had showered and changed, but he still felt a little groggy.  What the hell had Catwoman hit him with?  Besides the kiss, sure he knew about the old man’s tryst with the first Catwoman but that didn’t mean Terry was going to _share_.  He already got hell because instead of ignoring Catwoman's advances, he flirted back.  Last thing he needed was the old man finding out he stopped fighting back because a hot girl in a black cat suit stuck her tongue in his mouth and he just… _fell into it_.

He had to stop.  If he took another shower the old man would call him out on it, and he really didn’t want to take _another_ freezing cold shower.

“She drugged you with narcotics, using a sealant on her lips that wouldn’t drug her but would knock out anyone she kissed,” Bruce informed the younger Batman, “Selina was known to use the same trick from time to time.  It only makes sense she’d pass it on to Luna.”

“Her name’s Luna?  That explains the pendant on her choker…” Terry froze when it all clicked and he remembered where he had seen that same black choker with that same silver pendant before, “Oh my god, Luna- _my_ Luna is _Catwoman_?”

“Yes, Luna Knight is Catwoman.  Now-“

“You _knew_?”

“Of course I knew.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Terry was practically losing his mind.  Luna Knight was a nerdy little girl with curly blonde hair and big blue eyes she wasn’t…she couldn’t be…how in the hell could she be…he swore he felt his brain actually breaking.  To make matters worse, the old man’s smirk said it all.

_I didn’t tell you because it’s more fun this way._


	13. Whisper Pt. 3 (Dick-Arkham Series)

Ana had been gone for six months, and Dick hadn’t heard a word from her.  Arkham City was under construction, the giant wall that would keep the inmates inside at any rate, and Dick was certain Ana would be back.  What could be bigger than keeping inmates separated from the general population with nothing more than a wall?

He waited, knowing better than to reach out to her when she went dark like this, but he hated just waiting.  After a long night of dealing with the ripple effects of Arkham City in Bludhaven he barely took the time to take off his suit and mask before collapsing on his bed, face first.  When he woke up he found himself sleeping on the side of the bed Ana used when she slept over.  He missed her.

Tim always said Dick was whipped by the spy, and he was.  He really was, one word and Dick would suit up and take out a warehouse of thugs just to plug in a USB so Ana could get information he never got to see.  He’d be upset about it for a day, maybe two depending on the building he had to sneak into.

He should have known she was up to something the way she walked into his apartment.

_She waited patiently outside the door, waiting for Dick to open it for her.  He silently stepped aside and let her walk inside.  He looked her over, noticing her outfit.  Denim shorts, a brown tank top that wasn’t low cut, a brown sweater that went down to her knees, black low-tops, and her hair in a braid.  She looked nice as her aqua eyes looked up at him through fluttering lashes and shyly held up a bottle of Jim Bean.  She was letting him see past the walls to see the girl she was before she had to become the Whisper._

She did it for him, for them.  She knew she would be gone for a while, a long while, and she wanted to say goodbye.

_They drank and watched a movie, she had kicked off her shoes and pulled her legs close and locked her ankles together.  He kissed her, soft and slow, he took his time as he softly brushed her sweater off her shoulders and untied her braid so he could run his hand through her hair.  She clutched at his shirt as he pushed her down to the bed, slowly.  He kissed his way down her neck to her shoulder and to the collar of her shirt._

She didn’t even give him any orders.  The only sound that came out of her mouth was-

_"Dick,” Ana sighed as she gripped Dick’s biceps.  He was taking his sweet time, drawing it out as he thrust into her.  He leaned down and kissed her softly, passionately, before leaning his forehead against hers and watching as she shut her eyes and bit her swollen bottom lip._

She even spent the night.  The pillow she slept on still smelled like her, like the beach, vanilla, and jasmine.  They were strict about sleeping over, they had to be.  They weren’t partners, and there would be times where they would be fighting against each other so they couldn’t risk being attached.  They couldn’t be a couple, they never were.  They spent most of their time dating other people, but it never worked out and the two always found their way back to each other.

“Fuck,” Dick groaned as he got up, his erection making lying face-down on his bed painful.  He made his way to his shower and put it on as cold as he could stand.

_God-fucking-dammit Ana._


	14. She's Staying (Perfect For The Job Pt. 3) (BVS Bruce)

Bruce couldn’t believe it, Max wasn’t quitting.  She had just survived the key victim in an attack on Wayne Tower by the Penguin and his gang and she wasn’t leaving.  This likely requires some explanation.

During the attack she kept her cool, assisting in keeping the evacuation organized and under control.  Of course, that meant she was one of the last people to leave the building and found herself roughly pulled back inside by the Penguin himself.  He roughly grabbed her forearm, he wasn’t tall enough to grab higher on her arm, and pulled her back into the tower lobby while his goons pointed guns at her and the crowd.  She managed to walk backwards in her black pumps, black knee-length pencil skirt, and the tight dark-violet long-sleeve shirt.  The neck of the shirt was very loose, it hung off of her left shoulder, but in the moment it looked like she had already become rather tussled and roughed up by the attack.  She had been running a hand through her long brown hair many times and the soft waves that curled over each other had become a bit frazzled.  There were hundreds of employees in Wayne Tower and barely any of them were remaining calm.  To top it off, Bruce was nowhere to be found and considering he was the one Penguin was after, that only furthered Max’s concern.

“You’re Bruce Wayne’s personal secretary, you’ve got to be.  He always picks the prettiest girl he can get his hands on,” Penguin said as he pulled her towards the main reception desk in the lobby, “You’re the prettiest one yet, maybe I’ll let my boys take turns with you when we’re done here.”

Max remained silent.  She _wanted_ to snap back, she had countless retorts for the little freak, but that would only make things worse.  It was the middle of the day and despite the overcast caused by the oncoming storm, it was unlikely the Bat signal on the roof of the GCPD would be visible.  Max accepted the fact that she might have to deal with the situation herself, at least until Batman got there.  Of course, she wasn’t aware of her boss’s late-night activities at the time.

“Not gonna’ say anything?  That’s alright poppet, you’ll be screaming enough when the time comes,” Penguin laughed that wheezy cackle though the implanted voice box in his throat and was quickly joined by the nearby members of his gang.  Max couldn’t help herself.  She looked down at him and spit in his face.  The laughter stopped immediately, and she was thrown down against the reception desk.  She reached over the counter of the desk and grabbed a letter opener.  It wasn’t as sharp as she would have liked, but it would do.

“Go ahead, boys, have your fun with the cunt,” Penguin snapped.  Max didn’t move until she knew one of them was right behind her.  She spun on her heel and pierced the letter opener though the gang member’s neck.  He would likely bleed to death, but that wasn’t Max’s concern.  Gotham wouldn’t even consider charging her with a murder committed in the act of surviving a kidnapping by the Penguin and his goons.  They’d probably give her a standing ovation.

Besides, it’s not like it would be the first time she killed somebody, but she made damn sure nobody knew that.

She yanked the letter opener out, ignoring the blood staining her sleeve, and kicked the gang member down to the ground before dashing towards the security office as they opened fire.  She was expecting to get shot a few times, it wouldn’t have been the first time, but she found herself being yanked up without warning and she was sitting on a gothic gargoyle, a style which was found practically everywhere in Gotham.  She stared at the ground below her before she noticed the gloved hand on her shoulder and she looked at it before following it to…

“Batman…” Max breathed, keeping her voice low as she stared into his eyes, his deep blue eyes like the sea after a storm.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice was deep but disguised though a microphone.

“Yeah, I…” Max looked back down at the letter opener in her hand, covered in blood, “I think I killed one of them…”

“Don’t worry about that.  Stay here and don’t make a sound.”

Max nodded and watched as the bat disappeared before fighting the Penguin and his gang from the shadows.  Minutes later, Batman had returned to the vantage point where he had left Max and carried her down to the ground.  He escorted her out of the tower and took her right to Commissioner Gordon, who would quickly make sure she was taken care of and ensure there were no consequences for stabbing the gang member.  Max smiled and thanked the Commissioner as she sat in the back of the ambulance, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her shoes kicked off and sitting next to her.  When the Commissioner left to continue to deal with the aftermath of the attack, Max looked up and saw the Batman watching from a nearby roof which gave him a view of the scene.  She waved and her soft pink lips mouthed the words ‘thank you,’ and she swore she saw him nod before disappearing into the coming storm.

Max tried to go home, but she was taken to the hospital at the behest of the Commissioner.  He was a kind man, and Max couldn’t bring herself to say ‘no’ when he was so concerned with her wellbeing.  He, of course, asked if she had anyone she could call and she simply shook her head.

“No, only child, my parents died when I was a kid, I don’t really…” Max trailed off when she saw him, Bruce.

“Max, I heard what happened.  Are you alright?” he asked, placing a strong hand gently on her shoulder and ducking down to look her in the eye.  He _had_ to, he was over six feet tall and she wasn’t even five foot five.  Max nodded and smiled.

“Yeah, Batman showed up just in time and the Commissioner has been taking good care of me,” Max answered before adding lightheartedly, “Obviously he knows I voted for him.”

The men chuckled lightly before Bruce excused them, pulling Gordon to the side to speak with him in private.

“How is she really doing?”

“I’ve dealt with a lot of victims, I’ve seen a lot of people pretend they’re alright, but if she’s just acting…she’s better at manipulating people than you are,” Gordon explained in a hushed voice.

Bruce nodded, deep in thought, “Thanks, Jim.”

“One last thing, Bruce.  If you’re gonna’ keep her around, and I suggest you do, you need to tell her.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Bruce brushed it off, like he always did, as he shook his old friend’s hand.  They parted ways, Gordon left to continue his work and Bruce made his way back to Max to take her home.  On the way he had offered to give Max some time off and Max brushed it off by telling him she’d call him if she needed to take time off, but she never called.  Bruce didn’t see her at her desk the next morning, and assumed the worst-it had happened before-but only a few minutes later he saw the door to his office open and saw Max.

“I’m so sorry, I slept right through my alarm,” Max apologized.

“You’re staying?” Bruce asked with a lightly furrowed brow.

“Yeah.  So about the gala in a few weeks.  It’s for the Wayne Enterprises foster and adoption system so obviously you have to be there.  Both Alfred and Lucius said, and I agree, that it might be best if you arrived with a date, and left with the same girl, instead of picking one up at the gala.  It’ll ease up on the ‘who’s Bruce Wayne’s latest one-night-stand?’ and turn the focus on ‘look how much he’s getting done for orphaned and deprived children in Gotham.’  But that brings up the question, who’s willing to be your pretend girlfriend when you host gala’s and fundraisers?  I was thinking-” Max explained as she sat down across the desk from Bruce.  From day two, Alfred and Lucius had been feeding Bruce bad news and ideas he wouldn’t like through Max-and she never even batted an eye.  She would just sit down at his desk and continue like it was business as usual, even if Bruce was standing behind his desk as he worked-like he commonly did.

“What about you?” Bruce asked, dropping the packet of papers he was looking over onto his heavy mahogany desk.  He watched, amused as Max froze.  She blinked before slowly looking up at Bruce, her sky blue eyes meeting his stormy blue eyes.

“ _Heh?”_ Max wasn’t sure she had heard what she had heard.  Bruce just waited for the information to process in Max’s mind before she continued.

“Well, my first name is _Max_ , I have the same last name as the Wicked Witch of the West, I have nothing to wear, and I’m your personal assistant.”

“Max is short for _Maxina_ which is unusual enough to fit right in, most of the people there don’t read books and think that musicals are the poor man’s opera, take my card and buy yourself something to wear, and being my personal assistant means you’re already seen with me at least twice a week,” Bruce retorted as he pulled out his wallet and tossed his credit card to Max, knowing she would catch it-and she did.

“I literally hate you,” Max deadpanned, and Bruce smirked and chuckled at her.

“There’s an open bar.”

“I hate you a little less.”


	15. Captured (But Safe) (Jason-Arkham)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the Arkham Knight and Scarecrow attacked, Gotham City was plunged into chaos and it was an 'all hands on deck' situation, no matter how much Bruce wanted to do it all alone. Aria, the only one with superpowers on Team Bat, snuck around and used her powers to control technology to gather as much information as possible. The Militia couldn't figure out who kept leaking their intel to the Bat, but their Commander knew exactly who it was. Of course he did.
> 
> He used to date Aria, before everything went wrong.

# Chapter Fifteen

### Captured (But Safe)

 

Aria stopped for a second to catch her breath after she was thrown back.  She was braced low to the ground, crouched with one leg straight out to the side and one of her gloved hands planted on the floor.  Her dark curls were tied up in a bun at the nape of her neck and hidden under the blue-black hood of her sleeveless cat suit.  Her big brown eyes, hidden by her domino mask, scanned the warehouse she was in as she looked for something she could use to turn the tides in her favor.  She wasn’t strong, but she was trained, smart, and she had something that very few people did.

She found it, what she needed to turn the tides.

Small lines of light spread from the fingertips of her hand pressed firmly against the floor and continued to trail across the floor until it reached her target: a drone.  The drone’s cannon turned on a dime and started firing carefully aimed shots at or near the Militia soldiers attacking her.  They panicked, shooting at the drone as it took them out and giving Aria time to sneak back into hiding.

That was the turn of tides that she needed.  She used the distraction to take control of the laptop to get as much information as she could for her and Oracle to work with.  It was a deadly combination, Barbara as Oracle and Aria as Nightingale.  The hacker and the Technopath.  She was met with an unexpected opponent that took all of her attention.

Shots were fired _towards_ her but not _at_ her.  She ducked, yanking the disk out of the computer and deciding that what she had would have to do.  She turned to defend herself long enough to make her escape, but the Arkham Knight was just _standing_ there doing _nothing_.  He took a step forward and she took one back, he took another step forward and she took another one back.  She had her hand on her grapple, planning to zip up to the rafters and make her escape, but the click of the Knight’s helmet stopped her.  She watched, both confused and concerned, as the Knight removed his helmet and-

“Jason?” Aria froze, tears brimming in her eyes as she lowered her guard, “You’re alive…you’re here…why didn’t you tell me?  Why didn’t you come home?”

Aria’s guard crumbled into dust as she held back the tears, but barely covered her mouth to hide the small hiccup as she held back the sobs.  She took one step towards him before she felt a sharp pain in her side followed by the familiar rush of tranquilizers flowing through her system.  Her big brown eyes rolled back as her eyes shut and she fell to the floor, unconscious.  She never hit the cold concrete, however, as the former Robin caught her and cradled her against his chest.

He’d take her to a safe place, make sure she was protected against the Fear Toxin, and make sure she was well taken care of.

She would be safe, even if he wasn’t.


End file.
